Will they disrupt or be disrupted – survey respondents are equally divided

A new survey of IT stakeholders from open-source pioneer Alfresco Software, a leading provider of content management and process automation, and Dimensional Research is a wake-up call for the C-suite. The report, “Digital Disruption: Disrupt or Be Disrupted,” is based on interviews with more than 300 digital transformation decision makers in the United States and the United Kingdom. The report reveals what industries are most and least likely to be disrupted in 2018, identifies the qualities of companies most likely to be disruptors, and concludes that cloud is key to digital transformation.

It’s a coin toss as to who wins and who loses

When it comes to their own companies, 50% of IT stakeholders think they are leaders and will disrupt, while 50% feel they are behind and will be disrupted by the competition in 2018. By industry, more telcos (65%) and technology (65%) companies predict they will be disruptors, while 17% of IT stakeholders working for government and non-profit organizations worry they will be disrupted.

According to Alfresco founder and CTO John Newton, “Today’s corporate leaders must realize that digital disruption is happening, and it’s happening right now. Those who don’t have a digital strategy in place and IT modernization initiatives underway are not likely to survive.”

Companies with vision and execution will disrupt

An important takeaway from this survey is what is most likely to propel a company into the disruptor position. According to IT stakeholders, the top predictors of success are IT vision and ability to implement new technologies:

• Vision of their technology leadership (62%)
• Ability of their technology teams to execute (58%)
• Capabilities of new technologies, such as cloud, AI and IoT (57%)

On the other hand, companies most likely to be disrupted are those that are lacking the vision and right levels of investment to succeed, specifically:

• Lack of budget and people resource investments (61%)
• Lack of vision among business leaders (48%)
• No willingness for company culture to embrace digital transformation (47%)

Furthermore, 70% of IT stakeholders believe business executives are taking too long to make the digital transformation leap; only 38% feel the technology team is holding them back. Another 78% feel that people changes are the most difficult, while 22% feel the technology changes are the most difficult.

Banking most likely to be hurt by digital transformation in 2018

The report also looked at which industries were most and least likely to be impacted by digital transformation this year – 40% of IT stakeholders say banking is most likely to be negatively impacted by failing to digitally transform in 2018, and a third (30%) say retail is the industry most likely to be improved by embracing digital transformation.

Industries most likely to be negatively impacted by failing to digitally transform include:

• Banking – 40%
• Government – 18%
• Insurance – 10%

Other industries likely to be improved by embracing digital transformation include:

• Retail – 30%
• Healthcare – 24%
• Manufacturing – 18%
• Airlines – 17%
• Transportation – 17%

Cloud is key to digital transformation

To achieve digital transformation quickly, companies need a technology infrastructure that can adapt quickly to change. Infrastructure clouds or infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) solutions enable companies to innovate quickly and respond more rapidly to changing business conditions, with minimal capital expense and maintenance costs.

• The vast majority (95%) of stakeholders say IaaS is important to their digital transformation
• 81% say they have achieved value from IaaS, but only 11% say they are doing everything they can and have maximized its value